24 Facts About Thierry Boutsen

Thierry Marc Boutsen was born on 13 July 1957 and is a Belgian former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One.

Thierry Boutsen competed in 164 World Championship Grands Prix, winning three races, achieving 15 podiums and scoring 132 career points.

Thierry Boutsen twice finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race.

Thierry Boutsen entered the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Thierry Boutsen was untouched, but the debris field of hurled parts and bodywork was spread over 150 metres.

One of them, Thierry Boutsen Mabilat, was killed - struck in the chest by a detached piece of the guard rail.

Thierry Boutsen was considered a promising driver, testing for McLaren and Brabham.

Thierry Boutsen was briefly attached to the Spirit Honda F1 project before losing out to his Formula Two teammate Stefan Johansson.

Thierry Boutsen scored points twice in the old Cosworth DFV powered A6 and once in the turbo machine.

Thierry Boutsen got his big chance when he switched to the works Ford Europe F1 team, Benetton, for the 1987 season as teammate to Teo Fabi.

Thierry Boutsen scored points in six races, his best being awarded 3rd place in Adelaide after the disqualification of Ayrton Senna's Lotus and moved to 8th overall.

At the Australian Grand Prix, Thierry Boutsen was furious with Fabi when the Italian refused to let his teammate lap him for a number of laps.

When Thierry Boutsen confronted Fabi about this after the race, a frustrated Fabi, told the Belgian to "come back and see me when you have a pole position".

However at the Canadian Grand Prix, Thierry Boutsen drove well in wet conditions and took his maiden victory after Senna suffered a late engine failure.

Three more podium finishes came before Thierry Boutsen rounded the year off with a second victory at the rain-soaked Australian Grand Prix.

Ironically Thierry Boutsen had been one of the drivers protesting about the conditions at the circuit before the race.

Thierry Boutsen was too tall for the car and largely outpaced by young teammate Rubens Barrichello, failing to score any points in ten races.

For 1994, Thierry Boutsen was hired by Ford Motorsport to lead their works challenge on the newly created Super Tourenwagen Cup in Germany.

Thierry Boutsen started in only the first four races in 1996 before leaving the team and turning his attention to sports car racing.

Thierry Boutsen then drove sports cars in the US, driving for Champion Racing in a Porsche 911 GT1, alongside Bill Adam and Hans Stuck.

The trio finished 2nd in class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1997, Thierry Boutsen won the GT-1 US Championship with the Champion Racing in 1998.

Thierry Boutsen's helmet was black with a red, orange and yellow ribbon design surrounding the visor and the rear area.

Thierry Boutsen founded the company in 1997 with his wife Daniela and up to May 2011, the company had sold 205 aircraft, ranging from Airbus Corporate Jets to Cessna Citation.

Thierry Boutsen is co-owner of Boutsen Energy Racing alongside his brother-in-law Olivier Laine and Georges Kaczka.